City of Madison, Veterans Administration and Property Owners Work to Assist Homeless Veterans

Thursday, July 17, 2014 - 12:18pm

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital Director Judy McKee along with Nancy Jensen from the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin today called for continued collaboration for assisting homeless veterans.

The City of Madison has received word that 23 new, HUD-Veterans Administration Supported Housing (VASH) vouchers are available to house chronically homeless veterans in the Madison area. Under the HUD-VASH program, homeless veterans receive a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher from HUD along with case management and clinical services provided by the VA through its medical centers and in the community.

"The City is pleased to partner, not only with the Veteran’s Administration but also local landlords to assist those who served our country," said Mayor Soglin. "These are folks who at times fall through the cracks, and I am proud of our city’s collaborative efforts to assist them."

The Community Development Authority (CDA) for the City of Madison is working closely with the William S. Middleton Memorial Hospital to end veteran homelessness in Madison by the end of 2015. The Madison CDA and the VA Hospital are already working with 110 formerly homeless veterans, some of whom are currently shopping with vouchers. This new award will bring the total to 133.

"One veteran who is homeless is one too many," said Middleton Veteran’s Administration Hospital Administrator Judy McKee. "It is important that we continue to expand our relationships with landlords in communities where Veterans wish to live. The more landlords that we are able to collaborate with to develop strong partnerships, the closer we get to our goal of ending homelessness among Veterans."

"This program relies on private landlords to provide suitable rental units for these Veterans," said Nancy Jensen with the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin. "The association’s member property owners are working with the VA and local housing officials to utilize the vouchers."

Interested property owners may contact Suzy Stapleton, (608) 267-8701, sstapleton@cityofmadison.com in the CDA Section 8 office. CDA will pass along the information to the VA caseworkers who are working with these Veterans.